Man injured in Surrey police shooting speaks out

The 28-year-old man who was shot in the chest by B.C.’s gang task force Thursday evening told CTV News he did nothing to provoke police.

Michael Minchin said he was sitting with two other men in a grey Toyota Corolla when an SUV carrying members of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit pulled up to them.

“All four doors popped open and from all four doors were cops pointing guns at us. They were like, ‘Freeze! Freeze! Freeze!’” Minchin told CTV News over the phone from a hospital bed.

“I did not move a muscle, nothing. And then all I hear is this explosion of glass and it felt like somebody hit me in the chest with a baseball bat.”

Minchin, who was in the backseat, was shot between his heart and collar bone.

“I asked if I was being charged with something while I was bleeding on the pavement,” said Minchin. “They said, ‘I don’t know. We’ll figure something out.’”

A witness said he heard what sounded like someone pleading just before the shooting.

B.C.’s police watchdog, the Independent Investigations Office, has been called to probe the shooting but has yet to confirm any major details, including how many shots were fired and what led up to the decision to use force.

“We were advised [officers] were conducting a vehicle check. Shots were fired, an individual was shot and injured,” said IIO chief Richard Rosenthal said.

“We are not in a position to give any further information on an active investigation.”

CFSEU spokesman Sgt. Lindsey Houghton said he cannot comment on the incident while the IIO is investigating.

The Surrey RCMP also declined to speak to the shooting, but confirmed it has initiated a drug investigation based on evidence and details uncovered afterward. Witnesses said the other two occupants of the Corolla were arrested.

Minchin told CTV News he wasn’t aware of any drugs or weapons in the car, but that he was carrying two vodka coolers in his backpack.

Court records reveal a man with the name Michael Anthony Minchin was convicted of possessing a controlled substance, resisting arrest and possession for the purpose of trafficking in Nanaimo between February 2007 and February 2008.

Minchin insisted he has no gang connections, and can’t understand why he was shot.

“No gang ties, no involvement whatsoever. None,” Minchin said.

The IIO said it will release a full report into the shooting once its investigation is complete.